Nanishite Asobu?, literally translated as “What do you play?” or “What are you playing?”, is a one-shot Shojo Manga by the Japanese mangaka Mimori Ao who is famously known for the shojo manga series “B.O.D.Y”.

Since I could only find scant information about this manga and Ms. Mimori, my introduction seemed to be lacking in facts . Nonetheless, I want to share here my experience in reading NaniShite Asobu.

1.) I read Nanishite Asobu twice, one without translating it to English and the other with translation and breaking down of grammar rules and vocabularies. In the end, I accumulated tons of colloquial Japanese words and phrases normally used by teenagers such as the following:

フタマタ – two-timer

なんてゆーか – filler phrase

ボコる – to beat the hell out (te-form)

かも – maybe (slang for かもしれません)

やつ – fellow; guy; chap (derogatory term)

2.) Reading and comprehension without translating the passages to the languages that I know is easier than translating them first to English. I just realized that I am actually doing the same thing with English. I do not translate English to Tagalog when I read literary pieces written in English in order to understand them. So, what my teacher said was true, “Think like a native speaker and clear comprehension will follow.”

3.) My diverse taste in genre allowed me to have an entertaining experience while reading Nanishite Asobu?. By the way, it is a collection of short stories that has the same theme: “teenage boy-girl romance”. My heart still has a soft spot for this kind of heart fluttering stories. It might not be from a deeper source of heart fluttering but enough to make me feel young. (But I AM still young!)

“Say properly what you want to say…”

“I like you.”

Would I recommend this manga? For those who are practicing their Nihongo, YES! Unfortunately, according to my research, this has not yet been translated to English, so for those who does not have background in Nihongo, you will only understand the stories through the graphics.

So there. Thank you for reading!

辞書を使わないで、”何して遊ぶ？”という漫画を読んだ.

(I read “Nanishite Asobu?” without using the dictionary.)

PS: goodreads.com does not have information about Nani Shite Asobu. Too bad, I could not update my “read list.”